Over 40 Airlines Could Be Flying Boeing Jets With Risky Rudder Parts

Photo: Kevin Carter (Getty Images)

The National Transportation Safety Board warned over 40 foreign airlines on Tuesday that their Boeing 737 planes may be fitted with potentially dangerous rudder components. The agency identified 271 parts that could fail and jam the rudder control system. The NTSB discovered the issue while investigating a February landing incident involving a United Airlines flight arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport.

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The preliminary report found the rudder pedals on the United Boeing 737 Max stuck in its neutral position. The plane was not damaged and no one was injured, but the captain had to use the nosewheel steering tiller to control the Boeing after touching down. The NTSB tested the plane’s rollout guidance actuator alongside an actuator from a different Boeing 737 as a control. Both failed when tested in cold conditions with significantly compromised function. Investigators found moisture inside both units.

Collins Aerospace, the actuator’s manufacturer, determined that the unit’s sealed bearing was incorrectly assembled. The unsealed actuator can gather moisture and freeze should the temperature drop low enough, compromising the plane’s rudder. Collins delivered over 353 actuators to Boeing impacted by this fault since 2017, which were installed on 737NG and 737 Max planes. The NTSB recommended that the FAA determine if the actuators should be removed.

Boeing’s woes with the 737 Max seemingly haven’t stopped since the plane debuted. The planemaker’s settlement with the government over the 737 Max’s two fatal crashes was voided earlier this year in the aftermath of the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout over Portland, Oregon. Boeing then pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to pay a $243.6 million fine. The company still raked in $16.9 billion in revenue during the second quarter of 2024.